The Rose Island Lighthouse & Fort Hamilton Trust will offer a behind-the-scenes look at its upcoming permanent exhibition with a lecture at the Redwood Library & Athenaeum on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 6 p.m.
Public History Program Director Michael Simpson and Museum Research Coordinator Trinity Kendrick will present “Inside the Barracks: A Sneak Peek at Rose Island: In Peace and At War,” previewing the new exhibition opening in October at the historic stone barracks on Rose Island.
The barracks, built in 1798 as America’s first bombproof military structure, has served multiple roles over more than two centuries. The building functioned as a Revolutionary War defense fortification, a 19th-century quarantine station and a torpedo storage facility during both World Wars.
“This exhibit brings new life to one of the oldest military structures in the country,” Simpson said. “By interpreting the barracks as both a wartime fortification and a peacetime refuge, we’re inviting the public to experience the full arc of the island’s role in American history.”
The 50-minute presentation will guide attendees through the curatorial process behind the new exhibition, including artifact selection, development of immersive interpretation and the challenge of presenting stories of both protection and conflict within the same historic space. Time will be reserved for audience questions.
Simpson, who holds master’s degrees and leads research, exhibitions and interpretive programming for the trust, explores coastal New England’s layered histories from Indigenous land use to wartime reuse in his work.
The event takes place in the Harrison Room of the Redwood Library & Athenaeum at 50 Bellevue Avenue. The lecture is free and open to the public, but registration is required through the Redwood Library’s website.
The presentation is part of the trust’s ongoing “From Forts to Feathers” research initiative, made possible in part by Rhode Island Commerce and community partners.
Founded in 1984, the Rose Island Lighthouse & Fort Hamilton Trust preserves and interprets the historic structures and natural environment of Rose Island in Narragansett Bay. The nonprofit maintains the 1870 lighthouse and 1798 Fort Hamilton barracks while stewarding the island as a protected wildlife refuge.
For registration information, visit redwoodlibrary.org.
